Not because it’s deep red, but because it refuses to fade back. Hang it and the wall stops being background the red carries across the room and everything near it looks more deliberate. It works over a low sideboard, at the end of a hallway, or on a narrow strip of wall between two doors where nothing else has ever fitted. Pair it with dark wood, deep green velvet, chrome or brass legs, and keep the surrounding walls plain. Don’t crowd it with other strong colour or busy pattern nearby, and don’t hide it in a dim corner it wants a wall you actually walk past. As a canvas the flat red reads as one solid block of colour, which suits bigger walls.